Paint help, seam on 1965 swb

[PORKY]

What does everybody do with the horizontal seam that separates the lower & upper bedside on a SWB? I feel if I seam seal it, it'll crack & not look very good, even if it doesn't crack. If I just paint it with today's high build paint (not thin laquer of years ago) it'll stick together from the top panel to the lower and eventually separate too. What has everybody else done? Any help here, much appreciated! Thanks Frank

[63MOUSE]

I filled my seam by first drilling very small holes in the seams, then welding each hole making it one piece, then grinding the area to make seam uniform again. and like all body work bondo to fill in smooth, because it is welded together it dont move or crack. i have been daily driving my truck going on 6 years now and not 1 crack. did the same to my dads truck and he is going on about 8 years with same thing, no problems, my brother is doing a 65 longbed using same method

[PORKY]

Originally Posted by PORKY

What does everybody do with the horizontal seam that separates the lower & upper bedside on a SWB? I feel if I seam seal it, it'll crack & not look very good, even if it doesn't crack. If I just paint it with today's high build paint (not thin laquer of years ago) it'll stick together from the top panel to the lower and eventually separate too. What has everybody else done? Any help here, much appreciated! Thanks Frank

What kind of luck have others have at just spraying the seam without welding or sealing the seam? Any close up pics anybody?
Thanks for the help.

[Jonboy]

You could always use panel bond in the seam, or something similar. It's a lot easier than welding it, and should last as long.

[Shane]

seam sealer ...

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by PORKY

What kind of luck have others have at just spraying the seam without welding or sealing the seam? Any close up pics anybody?
Thanks for the help.

Hi Frank,

I just sprayed right over that seam (no welding or sealer) when I painted my dad's 66 about 12 years ago. The paint I used was Dupont Centari acrylic enamel. It built up thicker than the factory lacquer but I didn't have any issues with it "bridging over" the seam and sticking together. I'll go take a close up pic and post it in a day or two.

[PORKY]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

You could always use panel bond in the seam, or something similar. It's a lot easier than welding it, and should last as long.

Thanks, I'll look in to that.
Frank

[PORKY]

Originally Posted by Shane

seam sealer ...

I have my doubts about seam sealer in such a highly visible place.
I haven't done much spraying in the past 5-6 years. Is there a new non shrinking, sandable sealer out?

[PORKY]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Hi Frank,

I just sprayed right over that seam (no welding or sealer) when I painted my dad's 66 about 12 years ago. The paint I used was Dupont Centari acrylic enamel. It built up thicker than the factory lacquer but I didn't have any issues with it "bridging over" the seam and sticking together. I'll go take a close up pic and post it in a day or two.

I hope that'll work.
I'm hoping to just spray the non sanding etching primer on the bare metal, then 3-4 coats of good three part primer surfacer right over the etching primer, block sand, seal, and paint it. Love to see those pics.
Thank much,
Frank

[Shane]

Originally Posted by PORKY

I have my doubts about seam sealer in such a highly visible place.
I haven't done much spraying in the past 5-6 years. Is there a new non shrinking, sandable sealer out?

I've never had a problem with 3M Fast N Firm shrinking ... never used it on an exterior panel, but have used it on interior panels that were sanded and painted without any problems.

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by PORKY

I hope that'll work.
I'm hoping to just spray the non sanding etching primer on the bare metal, then 3-4 coats of good three part primer surfacer right over the etching primer, block sand, seal, and paint it. Love to see those pics.
Thank much,
Frank

Hi Frank,

Here's a couple close-up pics I took today:




As you can see in the first pic, the seam gets a little tighter/narrower right near the back of the bed (probably the way it got clamped/welded together at the factory). And it looks like the paint did "bridge the gap" a little bit deep into the groove in that area. It's only visible when looking straight into the seam (as in these pics) and doesn't have any cracks.

Unless you really need it to smooth things out, you might want to consider using fewer coats of primer/surfacer in this seam area. If I remember correctly, I only sprayed the seam with one coat of DuPont Variprime (a sandable etch primer).